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So, Bangkok.... wow what a difference to India... Bangkok has this interesting mix of smut and tradition... You get to Khao San Road and the place is alive.. it just drags you in and refuses to spit you out the other side. I've been here for a few days now and the time has flown by as has, unfortunately, my budget. You see all of these Thai girls milling about wearing the tightest, shortest dresses with beer slogans on them. They get sponsored to walk around wearing them enticing guys to drink that type of beer...

We left Varanasi somewhat more spiritually awakened but becoming exceedingly broke because of the amazing silk products they had there.

My last day in Varanasi saw me take a rickshaw to the post office to relieve my burgeoning bags of more souveniers. While at the post office, the customs official complemented my handwriting. He told me that I had handwriting like newspaper print which was a little odd.

So I gave him a list I wrote of the stuff in the parcel I was sending back to Oz and he seemed genuinely enthused to receive it.

"I give this to my daughter so one day maybe she has handwriting like you." he said...

This other guy then pursuaded me to go with his brother to his silk factory... I did this and found myself walking around a series of rooms filled with looms and people making all sorts of silk based products. I bought a scarf and bid farewell...

We took the overnight train to Kolkata that night. 20 hours all in all and the journey was a lot more pleasant than previo…

What a pleasure the overnight train journey was...... so, to sum up... I spent 12 hours on a train in a bed made for a midget, with the snoring championships of India taking place in the next cabin and with a bag rifling gypsy making his way through our stuff at 2.00am...

I didn't get much sleep... I was on guard duty after Mr Bag Thief tried his tricks... It was a weird experience... I had just drifted off to sleep... it was about 1.30am and it had taken me a while to settle. It's difficult to sleep when your legs are at a right angle to your body but exhaustion took over... I then heard and felt this presence next to me... I woke up and saw some guy pulling all of both Allen and my bags out from under my bed...

"Oi... what do you think you're doing?" I said...

insert a series of grunts here...... came the reply....

"Leave our bags alone now...!" I said more forcefully... pulling myself up to my complete and imposing 5 ft 10" size.... (that must have …